A Remorseful Night
by SingingIntrovert
Summary: Qrow Branwen slept lightly that night. He couldn't seem to get comfortable. Then he heard it, like the squeak of a mouse, and his eyes opened. He remained still, then he heard it again, this time more of a whimper. Qrow sat up and turned to his right. In the bed next to him, his niece shifted restlessly in her bed, tears streaming down her face. She was having a nightmare.


_Grimm…_

 _Screams…_

 _Yang's arm…_

 _Chaos…_

 _Jaune's call…_

" _Ruby?"_

 _Run, hurry…_

 _Cinder..._

 _Pyrrha…_

 _Nothing…_

" _Ruby."_

 _Sometimes bad things just happen…_

 _You do what you want, I'm just gonna lie here…_

 _I love you…_

 _More Grimm…_

 _More fighting…_

 _More death…_

"Ruby!"

* * *

Ruby's eyes shot open as she sat upright in her bed. She breathed heavily and her cheeks were wet from tears. She flinched when she felt a touch on her shoulder. Her head whipped to her right. "Easy, kid, easy. You're okay."

Ruby relaxed. It was her uncle, kneeling down next to her with rather concerned eyes. He had his hand on her shoulder, his touch now hesitant, in case Ruby wanted to be left alone. "You doing alright?" He asked.

Ruby remained frozen for a moment, then her face began to feel hot and her lip quivered. She shifted her position and flung her arms around Qrow, burying her face in the crook of his neck. Qrow responded by wrapping his arms around her and holding her tight, stroking her hair in hopes that it would provide her comfort as it did when she was little.

"Uncle Qrow…" Ruby whimpered.

"It's alright, I gotcha." Qrow reassured.

Ruby felt a stab of nostalgia. There were times where she'd hurt herself or get herself scared as a kid, and she'd need comfort from her family, whether it be her dad, Yang, or her uncle.

" _Aah!"_

 _Ruby dropped the weapon, causing it to land on top of her. She tried to get it off, but she cut herself with the blade. When she saw the blood on her hands, she cried out._

" _Ruby?"_

 _Oh, no. Where was Yang? Why couldn't she have come for her? She was in so much trouble. Because when you go snooping around and find your uncle's super cool sword-that's-also-a-scythe, the last thing you want is for him to find out._

 _The weight was lifted off her chest, and the five-year-old stared at her uncle fearfully. Uncle Qrow set the weapon aside and said, "Did you get hurt?"_

 _Ruby nodded shamefully, showing him her hands. "Come on, kiddo, let's get you cleaned up." He said, helping her up. After he cleaned and bandaged her hands, Ruby began to cry. She didn't expect for her uncle to hug her then, but when he did, she felt ever so grateful._

 _Qrow didn't yell at her that day, but he did firmly tell her not to ever touch his, or anyone else's weapon without permission or supervision. She believed that was the night she truly began to love her uncle dearly._

"I heard you tossing around and crying in your sleep," Qrow mentioned, "bad dream?" Ruby's head rubbed against his shoulder as she nodded. Qrow sighed, "Been there, kiddo. You're alright."

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay. If it makes you feel any better, I wasn't getting much sleep anywa-"

"Not that."

Qrow paused, then mentally slapped himself. The girl just had a nightmare! You think she's crying because she feels bad for waking you up? Man, you really are a dumbass.

"I...I messed up. I messed up everything…" Ruby cried. Qrow furrowed his eyebrows, "Are you...talking about Vale?" His niece's sniffling answered his question. "Ruby-"

Ruby sat up and wiped the flowing tears from her cheeks. "I-I should've done more! I…" Her hands fell to her sides and gripped her blankets, "My semblance his speed, but whenever something terrible is about to happen, I never get there in time! I was too late...for Penny, for Beacon, for Yang, f-for Pyrrha…"

Her eyes traveled down to her uncle's side. He was wearing a plain white t-shirt over his newly applied bandages. Tyrian's poison was out of his system now, though he had a fever for a few days which was just now wearing off. His wound needed more time to heal, however.

Qrow caught Ruby eyeing his side, and subconsciously moved his hand over it. Ruby's head lowered, her hair blocking view of her face. "You told me to stay back, but I didn't." She said quietly, "I distracted you and you got hurt…"

"At that time, I wasn't worried about myself." Qrow stated, "I wanted you to stay back so my semblance wouldn't affect you."

"I know." Ruby mumbled. The two sat in silence for awhile, Ruby with her head down and Qrow rubbing her shoulder. After a few minutes, Ruby squeaked, "Uncle Qrow?"

"Yes?"

"Do you...do you think Yang's mad at me?"

Qrow sighed deeply. He hadn't spoken to Tai or Yang since he left to watch over Ruby and her friends (who apparently referred to themselves as Team RNJR). Knowing Yang, she was probably really upset, but she couldn't hold a grudge for four months, could she? Well...

"...I think that she misses you." Qrow said. He wasn't lying, at least he didn't believe so.

Ruby lowered her head even more, "I miss her, too. But I ran away. I didn't even say goodbye. I just left a crummy note." Silence engulfed the room once again. Whenever Qrow would lower his head to look at his niece, she'd shift her face more and more away from his gaze. He thought for a moment. There was no way he was letting her go back to sleep in the state, he was sure of that.

For Qrow, nothing could clear his head better than a good drink. Of course, Ruby was only sixteen, so he'd have to improvise. "Hey," He nudged her knee. Ruby peeked up. "You want something to drink?" Ruby remained silent for a bit, then murmured, "Some orange juice would be nice…" Qrow stood up and gently ruffled her hair. "Wait here, kid."

When Qrow walked out, Ruby could hear the limp in his step. She let out a shaky sigh, remembering waking up to hear his violent coughing. Seeing his contaminated, purple blood. Carrying him in the stretcher they had made, listening to him moaning and coughing. She shuddered.

Qrow returned with two glasses, one full of orange juice, the other a clear liquid with a few ice cubes in it. He handed her the juice and sat next to her. Ruby sipped her drink slowly and, to her surprise, Qrow did the same. Normally, when Qrow got his hand on a drink, he'd gulp it down and get another. Guess not tonight.

Qrow sipped his alcohol and wrapped his arm around Ruby, pulling her close. Ruby sighed and remained still. "Hey, listen," Qrow said, his voice rough as usual, but soft and reassuring, "no one expects you to be perfect. Sometimes, things happen that are out of our control. Nothing that happened was your fault."

The kindness in her uncle's voice caused a lump to form in Ruby's throat. She swallowed it down and spoke, though her voice still cracked, "I tried…"

"You always do." Qrow chuckled, "But you have to remember, you're still a kid. So is your sister and your friends. And even when you get older, you still have limits. I know I do." Ruby giggled.

"I'm not saying that you should stop what you're doing." Qrow continued, "I'm just asking you to not blame yourself. There are some things that we can do and some that we can't. Knowing you, you always push to do everything that you can." _Just like your mother…_

"I guess that wasn't enough, huh?" Ruby mumbled sadly. Qrow shook his head, "There was nothing else you could have done, Ruby. It's better to try and fail rather than not try at all."

"You sound like dad."

"Oh, no! Don't say that!" Qrow mocked disgust and nudged his niece's shoulder, earning a giggle from her.

Ruby set her empty glass on the bedside table and laid her head against her uncle's chest, letting him gently stroke her hair. "Thanks, Uncle Qrow." She smiled. Qrow let out a satisfied sigh, "I'm always here, kiddo."

They sat like that for a while, neither saying a word. The peaceful silence broke as Ruby let out a soft yawn. Qrow smirked. "Someone sleepy?" He mused. Ruby nodded, then giggled when Qrow yawned himself. "Maybe we should go to sleep." She murmured into his shirt, though she showed no signs of moving. Her eyes were closed and she looked like she was going to fall asleep where she was.

Qrow shifted and stood, and Ruby fell to her side and whined. He chuckled, "Get some sleep, Ruby. No more nightmares?"

"Nope."

"That's what I like to hear." Qrow sat down on his bed. Ruby cuddled under the covers and mumbled drowsily, "I love you, Uncle Qrow…" Qrow couldn't stop his lips from curving into a smile, "Love you too, kiddo. G'night."

"Night…"

Qrow set his half-full glass on the bedside table. He even surprised himself at his lack for preference for a drink that night. He shrugged and left it there, laying down and rolling on his side in the bed. He heard Ruby sigh pleasantly from behind him.

 _Poor kid… She doesn't deserve to go through all this. She needs her friends now more than ever._

Qrow closed his eyes, but instinctively stayed alert. He lost his sister to hatred, his brother-in-law to depression, and Summer to the reaper. There was nothing in the world that was taking his niece away from him.

* * *

 **Ok, so this is my first RWBY fanfic! Obviously, I'm not new to the fandom, since this takes place after the events of Volume 4. Anyways, I adore Qrow and Ruby's relationship (and kinda support the theory that he could be Ruby's father) so I had to write a fluffy fanfic of the two!**

 **Also I live and breathe for the nightmare/comfort scenario, so if you follow me, this isn't the first one I've done. R &R! I hope this was good! (P.S. I don't know if Ruby and Qrow are sharing a room, I just assumed they did for this. Ok byeeee! **


End file.
